The third report of the CIES Football Observatory Summer Series on Match Calendar and Player Workload focuses on the most in-demand footballers. It notably reveals that, over the last twelve years, more than three quarters of minutes played by most fielded footballers per season worldwide (>4,500 minutes) were played in national club competitions (76.3%).

This finding confirms for the most in-demand footballers the conclusion already drawn in the first report at the level of all players: national leagues, more than any other organiser, have a dominant role in structuring the football match calendar. This situation has changed little over time (see also the second report on clubs) and the changes made to the format of certain competitions will have only a minor impact.

Projections for 2024-2028 show indeed that, given recent trends in squad size, turnover and the use of five substitutions, the proportion of active footballers in the 40 leagues studied who will play more than 4,500 official game minutes per season (50 full matches) will be slightly lower than that observed between 2020 and 2024: 1.02% compared with 1.07%.

>>> Third report on most in-demand players

>>> Second report on clubs

>>> First report on organisers

The second report of the CIES Football Observatory Summer Series on Match Calendar and Player Workload analyses the trends in the number of official games played by clubs in 40 of the top leagues worldwide. The study notably reveals that the teams are not playing more matches per season, countering the popular belief of an ever more crowded match calendar.

Between 2012 and 2024, the average number of fixtures per club and season is stable at just over 40. Only about 5% of clubs play 60 or more games per season (not including friendlies). Looking further back to the 2000/01 season, the same finding holds true for the big-5 leagues’ representatives in the UEFA Champions League, with even a decrease in the overall number of official matches played during the last three seasons.

No significant change was observed in the proportion of clubs playing 60 or more matches neither. The values measured at global level for the last two seasons (3.7% for 2022/23 and 4.0% for 2023/24) are here too lower than the average recorded over the entire period. The study also project figures for the next four year-cycle, with national leagues continuing to play a dominant role in the organisation of matches.

>>> Full study

This first report of the CIES Football Observatory Summer Series on Match Calendar and Player Workload in men’s football analyses trends in the number of games and minutes per season played over the last twelve years by footballers from 40 of the top leagues worldwide, as well as their breakdown according to organisers and projections for the 2024-28 period.

National leagues have by far the greatest weight on the organisation of men’s world football. Between 2012 and 2024, they accounted for 82.2% of all matches played by footballers from the 40 leagues surveyed. The second largest organiser, national associations, accounted for 10.2% of matches, while confederations come third with 6.7%, ahead of FIFA with 0.9%.

The main change over the last twelve seasons is the relative strengthening of the confederations, mainly to the detriment of associations. However, no weakening of the national leagues’ clear-cut leadership in the men’s football match calendar was observed. The latter accounted for more than 80% of the minutes played by footballers in the 40 leagues studied during all the seasons surveyed.

According to the projections elaborated by taking new competition formats into account, footballers from the leagues investigated will on average play the same number of minutes and 1.4% more matches in all competitions combined (not including club friendlies) over the next four years compared to the last four. The non-increase in expected minutes is driven by factors such as the five substitutions rule and trends in squad sizes.

>>> Access the full report for free

The CIES Football Observatory is breaking new ground with four summer reports on the highly topical issue of the football calendar congestion and players workload. The studies will be published on a weekly basis from next week, and will focus on three key areas and actors within the global football calendar ecosystem.

• Week 1 (ending 12 July) – Competitions
• Week 2 (ending 19 July) – Clubs
• Week 3 (ending 26 July) – Players
• Week 4 (ending 2 August) – Final report and further insights

The reports will individually and together help to gain a better understanding of the trends observed over the last twelve years in terms of the number and frequency of matches played worldwide, both in absolute terms and according to the organisers (leagues, associations, confederations, FIFA, etc.), and also in terms of matches and minutes players appear throughout their seasons. They will also provide an analysis of the impact of planned changes to the format of certain competitions (continental club competitions, FIFA Club World Cup, etc.), amongst other datapoints and insights.

Other new features are already available on the CIES Football Observatory website, including improved versions of the Transfer Value Tool and the Demographic Atlas, not to mention the other tools exclusively developed, such as the Migration Atlas and the Performance Stats Tool.

The 468th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the teams qualified for the Euro 2024 from multiple perspectives. The analysis of squad competitiveness, calculated through an index weighting the minutes played over the last year by footballers selected by the sporting level of their matches, highlights Germany and Spain as the favourites.

France and England are the other two most likely semi-finalists, with Portugal close behind. Regarding the aggregated transfer value of squad members, estimated using the exclusive CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model, England (€1.69 billion) is ahead of France (€1.41 billion) and Portugal (€1.22 billion). On an individual level, Jude Bellingham outranks the fresh Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbappé and Phil Foden.

The Post also presents data on the demographics of squads. In terms of age, the values range from 28.8 years for Scotland to 25.8 years for the Czech Republic. Regarding height, the extremes are 186.5 cm for Serbia and 181.6 cm for Spain. In terms of the proportion of footballers playing for clubs outside the country represented, the percentages range from 100% for Denmark and Albania to 8% for England.

The 467th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 clubs in the world with the most followers on four social media: Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok. Recent UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid lead the way with 411 million followers, ahead of Barcelona (361 million) and Manchester United (216 million).

Fifteenth, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr is the most followed non-European team (54 million). The Saudis are ahead of Brazil’s Flamengo (also 54 million) and Egypt’s Al-Ahly (51 million). Twenty-five countries are represented in the top 100, with a maximum of 18 clubs for Spain, followed by England (17), Brazil (12) and Mexico (6).

The biggest increases over the past year among the teams in the top 100 were recorded for Real Madrid (+48 million followers), Inter Miami (+31 million), Manchester City (+27 million) and Al-Nassr (+22 million). In relative terms, the biggest growth was observed for Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami (+1,348%).

>>> Full data

England’s Jude Bellingham is currently the player in the world with the highest value on the transfer market. According to the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model*, after a very successful first season at Real Madrid, with just a few days to go before the Champions League final, his fair price has now reached €280m**. Access the top 100 here.

Manchester City’s striker Erling Haaland is the second highest-valued player (€255m). The outstanding Norwegian goal scorer is ahead of Real Madrid’s Brazilian duo Vinícius Júnior (€241m) and Rodrygo Goes (€221m), as well as teammate Phil Foden (€204m). Also in the top ten are two Arsenal players (Bukayo Saka and Martin Ödegaard), a third Citizen (Julián Álvarez), Barcelona’s prodigy Lamine Yamal, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.

In the other positions, Borussia Dortmund’s and Switzerland’s Gregor Kobel tops the table for goalkeepers, Arsenal’s Frenchman William Saliba for centre backs, Manchester City’s Croatian Joško Gvardiol for full backs and Real Madrid’s Uruguayan Federico Valverde for defensive midfielders. Endrick Felipe from Palmeiras (on loan from Real Madrid) has the top estimated transfer value among non-European based players (€92m).

* Built on around 5,500 paid transfers, the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model explains more than 85% of the differences in the fees invested by clubs on the basis of criteria such as age, length of contract, minutes, the proportion of the latter as a starter, the sporting level of matches played, results, the economic strength of the player’s club and league, that of potential buyers, the level of inflation, etc.

** Estimates refer to 100% of transfer fees, including add-ons, with no consideration of eventual buy-out clauses.

Women’s football steadily grows and the process of professionalisation is continuing. Although still comparatively less available than for men, data on the demographic profile of female players is now more accessible for women too. The 96th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the composition of 223 teams from 19 leagues around the world: 14 European and 5 non-European.

On average, the clubs studied played with footballers aged 25.2. Northern European teams are the most focused on using young female footballers, while two non-European leagues are the oldest: Brasileiro Feminino and the NWLS in the USA. The figures for today’s UEFA Champions League finalists are 27.2 years for Olympique Lyonnais and 25.9 years for Barcelona.

In terms of the main origins of expatriates, with 159 women footballers playing abroad in the leagues studied, the United States confirms its leadership in this field. Canadians and Swedes are also migrating in large numbers (60 expatriates in both cases). The wide range of origins involved (97 nationalities) bears witness to the geographical expansion of women’s football.

Clubs in financially stronger leagues tend to rely on more experienced players, as well as on more footballers imported from abroad. This is particularly the case for the English Women’s Super League, where the average age of players in the teams is 28.8 years, and where expatriates played 61.3% of the minutes. Olympique Lyonnais are at 51.1% and Barcelona at 27.3%. May the best team win!

>>> Full report

If you are not interested in our publications, you can unsubscribe through the link below.

Good squad planning is a key factor in the success of clubs. The 465th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks almost 800 clubs from 59 leagues around the world according to a continuity index that considers the stability of the squad, its age structure and the contract policy*. This allows us revealing the teams that are both the most stable and the best prepared to maintain a good level of stability in the seasons to come.

Arsenal tops the table ahead of another English team qualified for next season’s Champions League, Aston Villa, with Premier League winners Manchester City fourth. Germany’s Borussia Mönchengladbach are third, suggesting an improvement in performance after a disappointing 2023/24 season, provided the club does not decide to dramatically change its policy. City Football Group’s members New York City are fifth.

In the top ten positions of the rankings also are other clubs with an outstanding squad management policy such as English Premier League’s Brentford, the Belgians of Union St-Gilloise, German champions Bayer Leverkusen, the Ukrainians of Rukh Lviv and Spanish Liga’s Real Sociedad. At the opposite end of the table, we mainly find under-performing teams from leagues with a relatively low level of competitiveness.

* Stability is measured by the number of players fielded in the league over the last three seasons, age structure by the percentage of minutes in the current season by footballers aged 31 or over (excluding goalkeepers) and contract policy by the proportion of minutes by footballers whose contracts expire no later than the end of 2025. The continuity index is the average of the three variables indexed on a base of 100, with the maximum for the lowest turnover and the lowest dependence on ageing or short-contract players.

>>> All data

The 464th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the outfield footballers whose performances have had the greatest impact during the 2023/24 season in 54 leagues around the world. The impact score was calculated by taking into account players’ performances in six areas of the game, domestic league minutes and results. The highest value for any position was recorded for Manchester City’s Spaniard midfielder Rodri.

Another midfielder, Switzerland’s Granit Xhaka of German champions Bayer Leverkusen, comes second. For the other positions, the highest impact scores were measured for Portuguese Rúben Dias among centre backs, his teammate Kyle Walker among full backs, Germany’s Florian Wirtz among attacking midfielders, England’s Bukayo Saka among wingers, as well as Argentina’s Lautaro Martínez among centre forwards.

Outside the big-5, the highest impact values per position were measured for Olivier Boscagli of Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven for centre backs, Saud Abdulhamid of the Saudi side Al-Hilal for full backs, his teammate Sergej Milinković-Savić for defensive or central midfielders, Rafa Silva of Benfica for attacking midfielders, Johan Bakayoko of PSV for wingers, as well as Viktor Gyökeres of Sporting CP for strikers.

>>> Top 100 overall & top 20 per league

Issue number 95 of the CIES Football Observatory’s Monthly Report presents the migration trends observed over the last five years in 135 men’s leagues spread across 88 national associations around the world. A new record in the presence of expatriate footballers was recorded in 2024. Since 2020, their number has risen by almost 20%.

The import of players from abroad is a phenomenon that now concerns a greater number of clubs and leagues around the world. Player mobility is increasingly taking place through transnational transfer networks, not just for the most talented footballers, but also for players at lower levels of professional football.

In particular, we are seeing an increase in the migration of players from more competitive associations to less developed footballing countries: the French to Luxembourg and Switzerland, the Argentines to Peru and Chile, the Brazilians to South Korea and the United States, the Croats to Bosnia, the English to Scotland, the Germans to Austria, and so on.

Three countries stand out as the main exporters of players: Brazil, France and Argentina. While Brazilians remain the most represented abroad, over the last five years their numbers have grown much less (+86 expatriates) than those of the last two world champions: France (+273) and Argentina (+220).

>>> Full study

The 463rd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks attacking players (wingers and centre forwards) in 30 leagues around the world according to the amount of defensive work performed. The latter was measured using an index* taking into account two variables: the distance covered at high speed (>25 km/h) in the defensive phase (SkillCorner data) and the number of pressures exerted on opponents without physical or ball contact (Wyscout data).

The highest score overall was recorded for the South Korean striker Heung-Min Son, with a particularly strong value in terms of distance covered at high speed out of possession. At Europe’s big-5 league level, Son is ahead of another Tottenham player, the Brazilian Richarlison, which reflects the strong commitment in the defensive phase that Spurs’ coach Ange Postecoglou demands from strikers, and perhaps explains the recent dip in performance.

Germany’s Johannes Eggestein of second-ranked Zweite Bundesliga’s St. Pauli tops the list in the second divisions of big-5 league countries, Costa Rican Manfred Ugalde (Twente, transferred to Spartak Moscow in January) in the non-big-5 European leagues, with the highest value overall in terms of pressures exerted on opponents, as well as Mexico’s Ricardo Marín (Chivas Guadalajara) in the non-European leagues analysed.

*The index was calculated on a 100 basis from the average of the values recorded for the two variables taken into account, themselves projected on a 100 basis. Only footballers who played at least 1,200 domestic league minutes during the current season were included in the rankings.

>>> Full data

Issue 462 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the territorial anchorage of almost 1,000 teams in 58 leagues around the world from the point of view of the proportion of national players and club-trained footballers among those fielded in the domestic league over the last year*. The territorial anchorage index reflects the gap from the general average for these two variables, with a maximum score for Athletic Club (100% of nationals and 62% of ‘trained’).

The Basques outrank Colombia’s Envigado and four other Latin American teams: Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara, Argentina’s Gimnasia La Plata, Venezuela’s Caracas and Uruguay’s Defensor. Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv are the only other European team in the top 10, along with another Argentinian club (Club Estudiantes), another Colombian team (Millonarios) and Egypt’s ENPPI.

The teams with the deepest territorial anchorage from the standpoint of the profile of players fielded for the other major leagues are Newcastle United in the Premier League (with Wolverhampton at the other end), Empoli in Serie A (Udinese at the bottom), Heidenheim in the Bundesliga (RB Leipzig last), Le Havre in Ligue 1 (Olympique Marseille at the other extreme), as well as Vitória SC in the Primeira Liga and Fluminense in the Brasileirão.

*National players are defined as those who have grown up in the association of their home club, while club-trained footballers are those who have played for at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21 in their club of employment (non-nationals excluded). The data refer to the last year or, for a few minor leagues and newly-promoted clubs, to the current season.

>>> Data for all clubs

The 461st CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 players in the world who have not yet celebrated their 20th birthday having accumulated the most playing experience* during the last year. The highest ’experience capital’ score was recorded for Benfica’s midfielder João Neves. The Portuguese international has played no less than 4,905 official game minutes, of which 97% as a starter, at an excellent level over the last 365 days.

João Neves is ahead of another international midfielder, Frenchman Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris St-Germain), with Manchester United’s Argentinian Alejandro Garnacho ranking third. Another French player, LOSC Lille’s Leny Yoro, is in the top five, behind the Spanish and FC Barcelona’s prodigy Lamine Yamal. Three other top-level talents from the Catalan club feature in the top 100: Pablo Gavi, Pau Cubarsí and Vitor Roque. Brighton & Hove is the only other team represented by four players.

Footballers from 32 leagues rank in the top 100, with a maximum of 10 for the English Premier League, followed by the Spanish Liga (9) and the Belgian Pro League (8). Five players who have yet to turn 18 figure in the table: Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí, Independiente del Valle’s Kendry Páez (already signed by Chelsea), Palmeiras Endrick Felipe (already signed by Real Madrid) and Newcastle United’s Lewis Miley.

* The playing experience over the last year has been calculated on a 100 basis by weighting the minutes played in official club (senior only) or national team matches (A and U21) according to their sporting level using the method described in this note.

>>> Top 100

Issue number 460 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks 30 leagues around the world according to a ’fast runs’ index based on three physical variables produced exclusively by SkillCorner: sprints, speed and accelerations*. Taking the average value of the scores measured for each team projected on a 100 basis, the English Premier League and Championship top the rankings.

Italy’s Serie A completes the podium just ahead of the Dutch Eredivisie, with the Swiss Super League in fifth place. The Brasileirão is the only non-European league of the seven analysed in the top 10 (ninth) with a value very close to those measured in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the French Ligue 1 and the Spanish Liga. Mexico’s Liga MX, Italy’s Serie B and Argentina’s Primera División come bottom.

By club, the highest values were recorded for Chelsea, ahead of Tottenham and six other English clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester United and Championship’s Leicester City. The top ’fast runs’ indices for the other leagues in Europe’s big-5 were measured for Rayo Vallecano in the Liga, Bayern Munich (ahead of Bayer Leverkusen) in Bundesliga, RC Strasbourg (ahead of PSG) in Ligue 1, as well as Sassuolo in Serie A.

>>> All data

>>> Follow us for more analysis (X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads)

* The variables taken into account are the frequency of high-speed runs (≥25 km/h for ≥0.7’’), the average maximum speeds reached by players and the frequency of their accelerations (>=10.8km/h/s for ≥0.7’’). The index is computed on a scale from 0 to 100 basis at team level from the standard score measured for each variable.

The CIES Football Observatory’s April report presents the exclusive approach developed on the basis of Wyscout data to identify the best performing outfield players in six areas of the game: ground defence, aerial play, distribution, take on, chance creation and finishing. The rankings refer to domestic league matches played during the last 365 days in 73 competitions worldwide.

The best index for ground defence was recorded for the Italian centre back Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), followed by Chelsea’s Spaniard Marc Cucurella. In terms of aerial play, at centre back level, the Dutchman Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) is ahead of Dan-Axel Zagadou (Stuttgart) from France. With regard to distribution, Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) and Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen) share the top spot.

Concerning take on, the Belgian Jérémy Doku (Manchester City) is ahead of the new Portuguese full international Francisco Conceição (Porto). In terms of chance creation, Ousmane Dembélé (Paris St-Germain) tops the table ahead of another world champion, Rodrigo de Paul (Atlético Madrid). Regarding finishing, the podium is made up of Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart) and Kylian Mbappé (Paris St-Germain).

>>> Methodology and full data

Issue number 459 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the world’s top 100 players who have not yet turned 23 and whose transfer value* has increased the most over the last six months. Barcelona’s and Spain’s 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal tops the list with an increase of €134m (from €11m to €145m).

Benfica’s Portuguese João Neves (+€72m) and Girona’s new Brazilian full international Sávio Moreira (+€70m) complete the podium. Other promising youngsters in the top positions include England’s and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (fourth), Brazil’s and Palmeiras (on loan from Real Madrid) Endrick Felipe (sixth), as well as Belgium’s and Manchester City’s outstanding winger Jérémy Doku (seventh).

Players from 12 leagues and 55 clubs feature in the top 100 rankings, with a maximum of 29 footballers from the English Premier League, followed by the Spanish Liga (17), the German Bundesliga (14) and the French Ligue 1 (11). Brighton & Hove Albion is the most represented club in the top 100 (6 players), followed by Chelsea, Tottenham, Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt (4 footballers).

*Estimated according to CIES Football Observatory statistical model.

>>> Top 100

The 458th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post highlights the teams in 61 leagues around the world having fielded U21 footballers* for the highest percentage of minutes in the domestic league matches played over the last 365 days. Two excellent training clubs from Eastern Europe top the list: Ukraine’s Rukh Lviv (52.2%) and Slovakia’s MŠK Žilina (44.5%).

The Post also presents the rankings for the age limits ranging from U19 to U23 players. The top-ranked clubs for each of these age thresholds in the five major European leagues are Toulouse for the U19s, Barcelona for the U20s (ahead of Brighton & Hove), Strasbourg for the U21s and U22s, as well as Frosinone for the U23s (ahead of Chelsea).

Among the clubs from the 24 non-European leagues analysed, the highest values were recorded for Australia’s Adelaide United at U19 and U20 levels, Colombia’s Envigado for U21 players, as well as Fortaleza CEIF for U22s and U23s. Developed exclusively by the CIES Football Observatory, this Demographic Atlas provides access to many indicators on the composition of the squads of clubs in 31 top divisions of UEFA associations.

* Players who had not yet celebrated their 21st birthday at the time of the match.

>>> All the data

Issue number 457 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks almost 800 clubs from 48 leagues around the world according to the average age of recruitment of the first team players signed over the last ten transfer windows (July 2019 to date). The lowest value overall was recorded for the Austrians of RB Salzburg (20.93 years), while the highest was measured for the Qatari side Al-Gharafa SC (30.27 years).

Another member of the Red Bull galaxy, RB Bragantino, ranks second (21.72 years). The Basques of Athletic Club (21.90) complete the podium with nevertheless few recruitments, most of their players coming directly from the youth academy. Also in the top ten are Slovenia’s NK Bravo, two Ukrainian clubs (Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv), two Belgians (Genk and Club Brugge), one Swede (Elfsborg) and one Slovakian (Ružomberok).

The Post also presents the average age of players signed during the penultimate five-year period (July 2014 to June 2019), which makes it possible to measure trends. Among the clubs having the most rejuvenated their recruitment, the top three are Athletic Club (-4.11 years), RB Bragantino (-4.07) and Brighton & Hove (-3.36). At the other end of the scale, the teams that have opted for more experienced signings notably include Fluminense (+2.95 years), Olympique Lyonnais (+2.39) and Inter (+2.32).

>>> Data for 777 clubs

The Weekly Post number 456 of the CIES Football Observatory presents the ten players with the highest estimated transfer values across 66 leagues worldwide (the most important outside the big-5). The rankings were drawn up on the basis of a powerful property statistical model*, explaining over 80% of the price differences observed for about 6,200 paying fee transfers that took place over the last decade.

Stepping stone league to the big-5 per excellence, Portugal’s Primeira Liga brings together the three footballers playing outside the world’s top five competitions with the highest estimated transfer values: António Silva (Benfica, €114m), João Neves (Benfica, €95m) and Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting CP, €87m). Real Madrid’s new recruit Endrick (Palmeiras, €80m) tops the list for players active outside Europe, ahead of compatriots Pedro (Flamengo, €42m) and Paulinho (Atlético Mineiro, also €42m).

The following players are the best valued in the other main leagues analysed: Jorrel Hato (€78m) in the Netherlands, Georgiy Sudakov (€52m) in Ukraine, Georginio Rutter (€41m) in the English Championship, Oscar Gloukh (€36m) in Austria, Matthew O’Riley (€31m) in Scotland, Antonio Nusa (€28m) in Belgium, Martin Baturina (€28m) in Croatia, Cristian Medina (€24m) in Argentina, Thiago Almada (€23m) in the MLS and Julián Quiñones (€21m) in Mexico.

*A scientific article referring only to transfers to big-5 league clubs, but whose approach converges with that now being deployed worldwide, is available in open access here. Transfer values for big-5 league players based on a scenario of three or more years of remaining contract are available here. Further information is available on request.

>>> Top 10s per league

The 93rd CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses the high-pressure data produced exclusively by the French company SkillCorner. It notably reveals the link between the frequency with which players are subjected to high intensity pressure from opponents, the position they occupy on the pitch and the style of play of their team.

During the 2023 and 2023/24 seasons, outfield players from teams in the 28 leagues studied experienced an average of 9.2 instances of high-intensity pressure per match. The highest values were measured for dominant teams: Manchester City (15.2 pressures per game), Bayer Leverkusen (13.9) and Columbus Crew (13.5). Manchester City also tops the table for the percentage of ball retention under high pressure (84.2%), followed by Real Madrid (81.2%) and Paris St-Germain (80.8%).

The study also highlights the players who stand out most positively in terms of ball retention under high pressure, based on the residuals of a statistical model that takes into account their position and their team’s style of play. This approach is particularly useful for scouting purposes to target recruits with an unexploited potential.

Access the Report for free.

More information about Skill Corner and our services on request.

The 455th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks teams from 54 leagues around the world according to their shooting efficiency. The latter was measured from the residuals of a statistical model explaining 78% of the differences in goals scored per team (not including penalties) on the basis of three variables produced by Wyscout: the number of expected goals according to the dangerousness of the chances created (also not including penalties), the number of shots on target and in total.

With 0.69 more non-penalty goals than expected per game, Greece’s PAOK FC have the most positive gap in absolute terms, reflecting judicious shooting decisions, as well as particularly effective finishing. Portugal’s Sporting CP (+0.59) and Italy’s AS Roma (+0.52) complete the podium. The Italians outrank Inter and Arsenal in the five major European leagues, followed by Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Valencia.

In terms of the most negative gaps, with 0.63 fewer goals than expected per game, Melbourne City top the list, ahead of four particularly inefficient big-5 league teams: OGC Nice (-0.56), Olympique Lyonnais (-0.49), Rayo Vallecano (-0.48) and Montpellier (-0.47). Everton and Köln are the least effective clubs in the other leagues of the European big-5, Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch Eredivisie, Vizela and Benfica in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, as well as RSC Charleroi in the Belgian Pro League.

>>> Full data

The 454th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 20 outfield players for six positions playing in 28 leagues around the world whose number of accelerations* per match (SkillCorner data) deviates most positively from the value expected with respect to their position and their team’s style of play (level of possession, pressure and verticality), according to a statistical model explaining more than half of the differences observed between players.

With 1.93 more accelerations per game than expected, Victor Osimhen (Napoli) ranks first among centre forwards. The Nigerian is ahead of Ghanaian Emmanuel Boateng (Rio Ave) and Ivorian Vakoun Bayo (Watford). Among the wingers, the podium is made up of Álvaro García (Rayo Vallecano), Armand Laurienté (Sassuolo) and Felipe Anderson (Lazio). Dutchman Guus Til (PSV Eindhoven) tops the list for attacking midfielders.

As for the other positions, Sessi D’Almeida (Pau) is ahead of Josh Laurent (Stoke City) and 19-year-old Ezechiel Banzuzi (OH Leuven) among central or defensive midfielders; Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen) crushes the competition for wing or full backs with the greatest positive gap overall (x2.1 compared to the expected value) ahead of Marlon Fossey (Standard Liège); Danilo (Juventus), Ruan (Sassuolo) and Davinson (Galatasaray) make up the top three among centre backs.

>>> Full data

>>> More about SkillCorner

* Accelerations refer to runs of at least 0.7 seconds at >10.8 km/h/s. Only footballers who played at least 1,000 domestic league minutes in the current or last completed season, of which more than three quarters in the same position, are included in the rankings.

Issue number 453 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the StatsPerform and Wyscout data on the number of cards, fouls and injury time measured over the last year for 71 leagues around the world. The study shows major differences between leagues in terms of all the indicators taken into account, reflecting different ways of interpreting the game by both players and referees.

In terms of red cards, the values range from 0.61 per match in Bolivia to 0.10 in the Japanese J2. For yellow cards, the extremes were measured in Uruguay (6.07) and, again, in the Japanese J2 (2.73). As for fouls, the maximum was recorded in the Brazilian Serie B (30.3 per match), while the minimum was observed in Norway and the Netherlands (20.0 in both cases). In terms of extra time, the data ranges from almost 14’ in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to 6’ in Finland and Slovakia.

If we relate the number of fouls to yellow cards (second yellow included), the values stretch from about one card every four fouls in Chile to one every eight in Japan. Among the European big-5 leagues, this ratio is much higher in the French Ligue 1 (6.8) than anywhere else (around 5), which may reflect either a lower propensity to hand out cards or a greater tendency on the part of referees to whistle for ‘small’ fouls.

>>> All the data

The 92nd CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses from a spatial perspective the origin of the >€75 billion transfer revenues collected by clubs worldwide between 2014 and 2023. Overall, clubs have generated around two-thirds of their transfer incomes from international deals. However, this proportion varies greatly from country to country, with a minimum of 37% for English clubs and a maximum of 73% for French teams among the big-5 league associations.

Teams from only three countries other than England - among the twenty whose clubs generated the most transfer incomes during the last decade - collected less money from foreign teams than from domestic ones: China (22%), Mexico (44%) and Italy (48%). The dependence on foreign transfers is much greater for clubs in associations such as Portugal (91%), the Netherlands (90%), Belgium (87%), Brazil (86%), Argentina (83%) or Turkey (77%).

For many countries, England is the main fund provider for international transfers. Among the nine other associations whose clubs received the most indemnities between 2014 and 2023, this is notably the case for the Netherlands (38% of total transfer revenues were generated from England), France (32%), Germany (31%), Spain (30%), Portugal (30%), Belgium (25%) and Italy (14%). Brazil (Spain) and Argentina (Italy) are the only exceptions.

>>> Access the mapping

Number 452 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 169 clubs in the world whose volume of incoming or outgoing player transactions over the last five seasons exceeded the €100 million threshold, as well as their net spending for the last ten, the last five and the last season. In terms of the volume of money exchanged, Chelsea is clearly in the lead with €2.572 billion, followed by Manchester City (€1.726) and Paris St-Germain (€1.404).

In total, 14 teams from seven countries have ’shuffled’ over a billion euros in five seasons: five from England, two from Spain, two from Germany, two from Italy, one from France, one from Portugal and one from the Netherlands. Twenty-four countries, including five outside Europe, are represented among the 169 teams whose volume of transactions exceeded €100 million, with a maximum of 30 clubs for England.

In terms of balance sheets, the values for the current season range from -€384m for Al-Hilal to +€167m for Southampton. Over the last five seasons, the figures stretch from -€782m for Chelsea to +€354m for Benfica. Finally, over the last decade, the values go from -€1.348bn for Manchester United (with only Chelsea also totalling a >€1bn deficit) to +€732m for Benfica. All the sums presented include any add-ons, regardless of their effective payment.

>>> All the data

On this Valentine’s Day, the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post highlights the footballers from 60 leagues around the world who have been in the first team squad of their current club for the longest uninterrupted period. Russian international goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev is the most loyal player overall: he has been defending the CSKA Moscow goal for 21 years.

In the European big-5 leagues, two Germans top the table: Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich) and Tony Jantschke (Borussia Mönchengladbach). They are currently playing their sixteenth consecutive season with their respective clubs. Three Spaniards complete the podium in the big-5: Athletic Club’s Iker Muniain and Óscar de Marcos, as well as Atlético de Madrid’s Koke Resurrección.

For the other European leagues surveyed, Akinfeev is ahead of compatriot Rizvan Utsiev (Akhmat Grozny), Scotland’s Lewis Stevenson (Hivernian) and Norway’s Steffen Hagen (Odds BK). Outside Europe, Emirati goalkeeper Ali Khaseif (Al-Jazira) tops the list ahead of the Shanghai Port duo Huikang Cai and Wenjun Lü, and Japan’s Hisashi Jogo (Avispa Fukuoka).

>>> All players

The 450th issue of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the game intelligence data produced exclusively by our partners SkillCorner to reveal the one hundred midfielders with the best statistics in terms of ball retention under high pressure* in 28 leagues around the world. The best percentage in absolute terms was recorded for a player who is relatively unknown in Europe: Darlington Nagbe (93.4%) of Columbus Crew.

Four better-known midfielders rank behind Nagbe: Rodri Hernández of Manchester City (92.1%), Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona (91.8%), Toni Kroos of Real Madrid (also 91.8%), and Granit Xhaka of Bayer Leverkusen (91.6%). Many footballers from teams playing a possession-based game are among the top-ranked ones, showing that the individual ability to keep possession also depends on the solutions offered by teammates.

The three youngest players in the top 100 are Paris St-Germain’s Warren Zaïre-Emery, Barcelona’s Pablo Gavi and Hull City’s Tyler Morton (on loan from Liverpool), followed by Gerard Yepes (Sampdoria) and Pablo Maia (São Paulo). The data refers to the current season or the last completed one for summer leagues. Only footballers who have played at least 1,000 domestic league minutes have been incldued in the rankings.

* A player is considered under pressure when he is in possession of the ball and at least one opponent player nearby him is trying to either recover the ball or limit his options. For each situation, SkillCorner determines the intensity of pressure by considering the speed of the players applying it, their distance to the player in possession and the angle of their movement. More information is available here.

>>> Top 100

The 449th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 402 footballers who played in the big-5 before turning 18 during the 15-year period from January 2009 to December 2023. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is the footballer who has played the most minutes in the five major European leagues as a minor (4,879), followed by Alban Lafont, Eduardo Camavinga, Florian Wirtz, Pablo Gavi and Warren Zaïre-Emery (ongoing).

Seven players made their big-5 league debut before the age of 16, the youngest in absolute terms being Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri (15.5 years). With 119 minors fielded by their clubs, France’s Ligue 1 is the leader in this area, as the Monthly Report number 91 also reveals. The sharp rise in the use of underage players recorded since 2022 is strongly linked to the increase observed at French Ligue 1 level.

The study also shows that early experience in big-5 leagues is no guarantee of success. Only a minority (47.7%) of footballers used in the big-5 as minors and who subsequently played in other teams were able to do so for at least one club at a better sporting level than their initial one. This finding indicates that caution is required when it comes to assessing the true potential of players launched into professional football at an early stage.

>>> The 402 minors’ list

>>> Full analysis

See also the FIFA, ECA & CIES study on the transfer of minors and their career paths.

The 448th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 50 clubs in the world with the most positive and negative transfer balances for non-academy players signed and transferred between 2014 and 2023. The figures range from a positive balance* of €386 million for LOSC Lille (Pépé, Osimhen, Botman, etc.) to a negative balance of €631 million for Barcelona (Coutinho, Dembélé, Griezmann, etc.).

With +€317 million in capital gains, Ajax (de Jong, Antony, Lisandro Martínez, etc.) are in second place. RB Salzburg (Naby Keita, Mwepu, Haaland, etc.) complete the podium, just ahead of AS Monaco (Tchouaméni, Lemar, Bernardo Silva, etc.). The top 10 of clubs having generated the most profits from player trading during the last decade also includes two German (RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt), two Italian (Sassuolo and Atalanta) and two Portuguese teams (Benfica and Sporting CP).

At the other end of the scale, Barcelona (-€632 million) are ahead of Chelsea (-€482m with the three biggest losses for Jorginho, Pulišić and Rüdiger) and Arsenal (-€436m; Pépé, Aubameyang, Lacazette). Paris St-Germain has the fourth most negative balance (Neymar, Di María, Icardi, etc.), ahead of Manchester United (Matić, Fred, Mata, etc.). Manchester City (-€59m) and Bayern Munich (-€61m) have the best balances among the most competitive teams.

* Add-ons included irrespective of actual receipt or payment, not including agent commissions.

>>> Full data

The top 100 of youth academy players’ last decade transfer incomes by club is available here.

The 447th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 centre backs in the world with the best aerial play statistics* according to an index computed from the number of aerial duels won, in relation to the playing time and the frequency of aerial duels at employer team level, the percentage of aerial duels won and the sporting level of the matches played. Liverpool’s Dutchman Virgil van Dijk is ahead of Bayern Munich’s South Korean Min-jae Kim.

Now reconverted from defensive midfielder to centre back, Paris St-Germain’s Portuguese Danilo Pereira rounds off the podium, ahead of two other players active in the five major European leagues: England’s Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United) and France’s Dan-Axel Zagadou (Stuttgart). Argentina’s Bruno Duarte (Panatelikos) is the highest-ranked player from outside the big-5, while Joaquim Henrique (Santos) tops the table for outside Europe’s centre backs.

Cerro Porteño’s Paraguayan Lucas Quintana is the youngest player in the top 100 (19.0 years of age, 95th), ahead of Westerlo’s, on loan from Galatasaray, Turkish Emin Bayram (20.8 years, 21st) and Chornomorets’ Ukrainian Volodymyr Salyuk (21.6 years, 42nd). By contrast, the three oldest centre backs in the top 100 are Sevilla’s Sergio Ramos (37.8 years, seventh), Racing Santander’s Germán Sánchez (37.1 years, 63rd) and Deportivo Saprissa’s Kendall Waston (36.0 years, 64th).

* Wyscout statistics refer to domestic league matches in the current season or the last completed one for summer leagues. Only footballers who have played at least 900’ are included in the rankings.

>>> Go to the top 100

The 446th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 clubs with the most profitable academies in the world in terms of revenues generated over the last ten years by the transfer of players who spent at least three seasons there between the ages of 15 and 21*. Portuguese side SL Benfica are clearly in the lead with €516 million, two thirds of which has been collected in the last five years.

AFC Ajax (€376 million) and Olympique Lyonnais (€370 million) complete the podium. As in the case of Benfica, the majority of Ajax’s revenues from the transfer of players from its academy has been generated over the last five years (66%). Despite transfer price inflation, this percentage is much lower for Olympique Lyonnais (50%).

Also in the top ten are three English clubs (Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City), a second Portuguese team (Sporting CP), as well as Real Madrid (fourth), AS Monaco (sixth, largely thanks to the revenues from Kylian Mbappé’s transfer to Paris St-Germain) and Italy’s Atalanta (tenth). Outside Europe, the clubs with the most profitable academies are Brazil’s Flamengo (thirteenth) and Argentina’s River Plate (fourteenth).

* Including add-ons regardless of their actual receipt.

>>> Find out the top 100

The 445th issue of the Weekly Post presents the 100 players in the world with the highest estimated transfer values according to the CIES Football Observatory statistical model*. English youngster Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) tops the list with a transfer value of €267.5m, ahead of Norway’s Erling Haaland (Manchester City) and his two Brazilian teammates Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo Goes.

As for the other leagues in the Europe’s big-5, Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) heads the rankings for the German Bundesliga, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (SSC Napoli) for Italy’s Serie A and, despite a contract expiring in June, Kylian Mbappé (Paris St-Germain) for France’s Ligue 1. Outside the big-5, António Silva (SL Benfica) is ahead of Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting CP) and Endrick Felipe (SE Palmeiras, on loan from Real Madrid).

Compared to the estimates published last June, the number of players with a transfer value in excess of €100 million has almost doubled (from 20 to 39), reflecting the sharp inflation in player prices occurred during the summer 2023 transfer window. The value of the hundredth player with the highest estimated value is now €71.3 million, compared with €53.4 million in June 2023.

* Based on more than 6’000 paying fee transactions, the CIES Football Observatory statistical model allows us to accurately predict the transfer fees that clubs are likely to pay, given the prices invested in the past for players with similar characteristics. The estimates do not take into account eventual buy-out clauses. They refer to 100% of the economic rights and include both fixed and conditional sums (add-ons).

More information on demand.

>>> Top 100 list

The 90th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory presents the 30 players born in 2003 or later for nine different positions who have accumulated the most playing experience* over the last year. With 17 footballers, the Spanish Liga is the most represented league, followed by the Dutch Eredivisie, the Belgian Pro League and the MLS in the United States and Canada (16 players in the three cases).

The following footballers head the rankings for their respective position:

• Goalkeepers: Guillaume Restes (2005), Toulouse FC, experience score 77.6 out of 100
• Centre backs: Giorgio Scalvini (2003), Atalanta BC, 92.7
• Right full/wing backs: Arnau Martínez (2003), Girona FC, 95.4
• Left full/wing backs: Alejandro Balde (2003), FC Barcelona, 95.4
• Holding midfielders: Pablo Gavi (2004), FC Barcelona, 96.0
• Attacking midfielders: Jude Bellingham (2003), Real Madrid, 96.2
• Right wingers: Xavi Simons (2003), RB Leizpig, 90.6
• Left wingers: Alejandro Garnacho (2004), Manchester United, 82.9
• Centre forwards: Rasmus Höjlund (2003), Manchester United, 88.9

All the rankings are available for free here. Thank you for your interest and happy holidays!

* Expressed on the basis of 100, the ’experience score’ was calculated from the number of official game minutes played at club (league, national cups, international cups) or national team (senior, U23 and U21) level in 2023 (limited to 2,250 minutes), the sporting level of the 25 most competitive matches in which the footballers took part (method available in this note), as well as the percentage of minutes played as first choice players.

The last CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post for 2023 ranks the clubs in 53 leagues around the world according to the average size of the line-ups fielded in the current or last completed season. Almost 13 centimetres separate the ‘tallest’ and ‘shortest’ teams: Hungary’s Kecskeméti TE (187.13cm) and Japan’s Sagan Tosu (174.18cm).

While Japanese clubs monopolise the bottom three places (Sagan Tosu, Albirex Niigata and Yokohama FC), three German clubs are in the top four positions: TSG Hoffenheim, FC Schalke 04 and FC Heidenheim. Rayo Vallecano is the only European big-5 league team with an average height on the pitch shorter than 180cm (178.61cm).

The world average is 181.46cm, with higher values in the UEFA association leagues (182.65cm) than in the other continents (179.54cm). All 55 teams where players over 185cm played a majority of minutes are from the Old Continent. More demographic data for 31 European top divisions are available in this Atlas.

>>> Data per club

Issue 443 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the exclusive data from our partners SkillCorner on the players* with record values in 40 competitions around the world for three indicators: distance covered, number of sprints during possession (>25 km/h for at least 0.7 seconds), as well as the same indicator during phases without the ball, in all three cases per 90’ of presence on the pitch.

In the European big-5, the following midfielders top the list in terms of distance covered per 90’: Sander Berge (Burnley FC), Koke Resurrección (Atlético Madrid), Daniel Boloca (US Sassuolo), Hugo Larsson (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Adrien Thomasson (RC Lens). When it comes to the number of sprints in the defensive phase, full-backs tend to come out on top, with the notable exception of the incredibly generous Heung-Min Son (Tottenham Hotspur) in the Premier League.

As for sprints in the offensive phase, the top spots notably include Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea FC) in the Premier League, the very promising Karim Konaté (RB Salzburg) in the Austrian Bundesliga, Sheraldo Becker (Union Berlin) in the UEFA’s Champions League, the Algerian arrow Mohamed Amoura (Union Saint-Gilloise) in the Europa League, Biel (EC Bahia) in the freshly terminated Brasilierão, as well as Agustín Canobbio (Athletico Paranaense) in the Copa Libertadores.

* To be included, players had to have played at least 720’ up to 7 December 2023 in national competitions and 360’ in international competitions.

>>> Full data